Saturday was a chance for car enthusiasts, drivers, and collectors to show off their rides at the eighteenth annual Heat of the City Cruise In. The all day event merited a complete close-off of the Central Park area. Some rides sat high, some sat low; some were contemporary, some were classics.
Cournal Canada, from Mansfield, cruised in with his maroon Modified 1997 Thunderbird. He has this car, as well as a 1961 Cadillac that he left at home.
“I drive it every once and a while, just when the weather’s nice and on Sundays sometimes. I put it away for the winter because I don’t want any salt to get on the paint,” explained Canada.
He remembers his first car as a 1947 Chevy Coupe that he owned just out of high school. Canada comes to the ever-growing Cruise In in Mansfield every year.
John and Mary Jane Merschdorf, of Mansfield, showed their 1969 Volkswagen Westfalia Campmobile. It was equipped with a kitchenette, raised mesh roof for catching the breeze, and an expandable over-head shade.
The couple bought the bus used in 1972 for $2,795 and have since traveled to Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Michigan and all over Ohio.
They went to a car show in Toledo in 1991 and ever since, they have shown their bus at the Heart of the City Cruise In in Mansfield.
